Design creating tool



Dec. 27, 1966 H. M. GAGE ETAL DESIGN CREATINGTOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 K Cmin m? m mvvy ME y m p o m WM]. WW E Filed Jan. 5, 1966 Dec. 27, 1966 H,G ETAL 3,293,753

DESIGN CREATING TOOL Filed Jan. 3, 1966 2 SheetsSheet 2 FIG. 3

FIG. 4

I NVEN TOR. HAROLD M. GAGE I'IDWARI) E. HEADRIC'K way S ATTORJVEY UnitedStates Patent 3,293,753 DESIGN CREATING TOOL Harold M. Gage, 4836 CrownAve., and Edward E. Headrick, 4900 Crown Ava, both of La Canada, Calif.94601 Filed Jan. 3, 1966, Ser. No. 518,375 4 Claims. (Cl. 33-27) Thisinvention relates to mechanical movement devices for marking a patternon one of two relatively-moving surfaces, and is more specificallyrelated to that indefinite area of classification which transcendsbetween a mechanical device for producing designs in serious artconcepts and a toy for amusement.

This invention, as illustrated and described herein, has for its mainobject the provision of an amusement device which enables a person tocreate highly-intricate lacy patterns for decorative use as well as forpure entertainment and amusement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tool for creatingdesigns, whereby the design is established by producing an arbitrary camsurface, and the finished design which that cam surface is instrumentalin creating is unknown until the tool develops the cam surface into anartistic pattern.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparenthereinafter, the best mode contemplated for the present invention isdisclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top-plan view of a toy device embodying the concepts ofthis invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view through the housing of FIG- URE 1, takensubstantially along the line 22 of FIG- URE 1, and is essentially anelevational view of the internal mechanism with the side of the casingbroken away;

FIGURE 3 is a bottom view of the internal mechanism as revealed byremoval of the bottom wall of the casing; and

FIGURE 4 is a top schematic relationship illustration of the rotatingcontainer, with the top wall of the container removed to illustrate theinternal mechanism operating a marking stylus.

Although this invention may be employed with various types of markingsurfaces, it is illustrated in the environment of a renewable type ofsurface which is old and well known, particularly in the toy field. Thistype of surface is created by the adherence of finely-divided aluminumpowder to a translucent window. It is employed in at least onewell-recognized toy wherein a marking stylus is driven by coordinatedrive mechanism.

In the present invention, a stylus is driven along the surface to scrapeaway some of the adhering aluminum. The marking is eradicated byinverting the container holding the aluminum and dusting the entirewindow with fresh aluminum powder. The powder adheres over the entiresurface and obliterates any previously-made markings.

In the drawings, a toy device embodying the invention is illustrated asbeing housed in a case having a front deck 11, and a framed circularopening 12.

Within the case housing 10, and framed within the opening 12, is arotary container 14. This container is sealed in order to hold aquantity of finely-divided aluminum powder and prevent the escape ofthat powder. This embodiment illustrates a circular container having abottom wall and a circular side wall 16. The top of the container isclosed by a wall 17. The wall 17 is preferably of glass, or a plasticmaterial suitable for the transmission of light to the extent that acoating of aluminum on the interior side may be seen from the exteriorand any markings made in that aluminum coating will be evident from theexterior. Hence, the generic term translucent will be employed to referto this quality of this top wall 17, and any one of a range of materialsmay be selected to fit this requirement. The purpose is obvious, andthat is to permit the design to be scratched on the interior surface inorder that the aluminum may be contained Within the sealed rotarycontainer 14 and yet have the pattern which is made be observable fromthe exterior, preferably without interior illumination.

To cause the marking on the interior .of top wall 17, a stylus 20 isswingingly supported inside container 14 on arm 21 which operates from apivot point laterally of the central axis of container 14. In theillustrated embodiment, this pivot mount is provided by a pulley 22,which is driven from the exterior to cause the arm 21 to move through aswinging path as suggested by the semi-circular mark 23 shown in FIGURE4. The mark 23 would be produced if the rotary container 14 were toremain stationary while the arm 21 is swinging. This condition does notexist in actual use of the invention.

A drive crank 24 mounted on the front deck 11 provides a source ofmanual power for driving both the rotary container and the swingable arm21. Electric power is an obvious alternative, if desired.

The drive crank 24 is geared to drive the container 14 in a regularrotary motion, and also is geared to drive a turntable 25 locatedadjacent to the crank on the front deck 11. The purpose of the turntable25 is to hold any one of a number of different cams. A dotted outline 26is suggestive of the location of a cam. Then, a cam follower and leverarm 27 are positioned to ride the surface of the cam 26 and, by means ofinterior linkage, produce an erratic swinging drive in the arm 21. Thus,the arm 21 is driven in an irregular swinging path in one sense of theword, because of the configuration of the cam surface, but the movementis regular in that it is repeated over and over. By making the drivefrom crank 24 to the turntable 25 at a definite speed ratio with thedrive to container 14, the stylus 20 will not track a prior mark. Thus,the same pattern is repeated at different positions on the surface ofthe top wall 17 until a complex and intricate lacy pattern is created.The pattern created is something which could not be done in any manualmanner and is generally unpredictable from the cam configuration untilafter the pattern is actually created. The mechanism chosen toillustrate the invention in sufficient detail that this embodiment couldbe made and used without further development or experimentation is setout in the drawings.

Within the case housing 10 is a platform 29 which has the appearance ofa false bottom in the housing. This platform serves to support variousbearings.

A cylindrical post 31 is anchored to the platform 29, and extends upthrough the center of bottom Wall 15 of the rotary container 14. Thispost is the operating center for the container and stylus.

A pulley 32 is seated upon the top surface of platform 29, and ismounted on the post 31 by means of a bearing 33. The bottom wall 15 ofthe container 14 is seated upon the top surface of pulley 32, and ispreferably anchored to the pulley in order that positive rotationaldrive may be transferred from the pulley 32 to the container 14.

A rotatable shaft 35 extends up through the central axial opening of thecylindrical post 31 and projects to a position on the interior of thesealed rotary container 14. A cantilever beam 36 is centered around theshaft 35 and anchored in a fixed position to the post 31, and, hence, isnon-rotative. The beam extends to a position a distance from the hub tomount the pulley 22, which pulley in turn mounts the swingable supportarm 21. A drive pulley 38 is fixed to the end of the shaft 35 and isrotatable with the shaft. A wire belt 40 provides drive 3 relationshipof pulley 39 with the stylus arm support pulley 22.

Thus, the pulley 38 serves as a means to drive the stylus 20 through itsarcuate swing. Oscillatory drive of the shaft 35 is translated intooscillatory drive of the pulley 38, which, in turn, produces theoscillatory'drive of the pulley 22. If the drive of the pulley 38 isgreater than the limits of the path 23, damage could result. Therefore,stops 42 are carried by the pulley 22 and are positioned to strike anabutment post 43. This movement limitation is indicated best in FIGURE 4of the drawing. Thus, if the drive movement imparted to the pulley 38 isgreater than the limit that is permissible in the drive of the stylus,slippage will take place in the wire belt 40 and prevent overdrive.

The rotary container 14 is intended to be driven in a regular rotarydrive motion. This drive is provided from the drive crank 24 which isequipped with a central shaft 45. Shaft 45 is held by hearing 46 in theplatform 29. A pulley 47 is fixed to shaft 45. A wire belt 49interconnects pulley 47 with pulley 32 to apply drive translation to thecontainer supporting pulley 32 and, hence, drive the container 14.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the stylus is alsodriven from the same drive crank 24. A pulley 51 is secured on the endof shaft 45, and as best illustrated in FIGURE 3, operates to drive anadjacent pulley 52 by means of a wire belt 53. Pulley 52 is mounted on ashaft 54, which extends up through the case to the surface of the frontdeck 11, and this shaft 54 carries the turntable 25. Hence, rotation ofthe drive crank 24- operates the rotary container 14 in a regular rateof rotation and rotates the turntable 25 in a regular rotary motion, butat a considerably different speed because of the different relationshipof the drive pulleys as seen in FIGURE 3. No particular size isspecified, this being adaptable to wide ranges of different speedsaccording to the type of pattern one may choose to create in theresultant configuration.

The turntable 25, operating through a selected cam 26, operates the camfollower and lever 27 according to known cam follower principles. Aspring, which is not illustrated, is used to urge the cam follower andlever 27 against the surface of the selected cam 26. The swing movementof lever 27 is transmitted to stylus arm 22.

The lever 27, in FIGURE 2, rises behind the crank 24, but the FIGURE 1illustrates the true spaced relationship. The lever is formed to extendbelow the level of the front deck 11 down and under the container 14 tothe level of platform 29. Here, the lever 27 is attached and adapted todrive a vertical shaft 56 which extends vertically through platform 29and acts as a bearing pivot point for the lever.

A lever 58 is secured on the end of shaft 56 below the platform 29. Thelever 58 is at an angle to the direction of the lever 27, as best seenin FIGURE 3, and, therefore, acts as a pitman lever. To the end of thelever 58 there is secured a wire link 59 which is secured at theopposite end to a lever 60 carried by the shaft 35. Hence, swingingmovement of the cam follower lever 27 is translated through linkage tothe shaft 35, Shaft 35 is oscillated to cause oscillatory rotation ofthe pulley 38 in container 14, with the resultant arcuate drive of thesylus 20 previously discussed.

A well 61 in the front deck 11 is provided to hold a selection ofvarious cams. A cam 62 is illustrated in the well. Note that the cam hasa central hole 63, much like a phonograph record and this hole 63 fitsrather closely upon the projection of shaft 54 above the surface ofturntable 25.

A stub shaft 64 carried a distance from the hole 63 is positioned toextend into a matching hole 65 in turntable 25 in order to provide alocking action of the cam upon the turntable.

The cams may be prepared in advance for selection by inexperienced andyounger children, but these cams are also easily manufactured by theoperator to suit his own fancy. Then fiberboard or plastic material maybe quickly cut with suitable tools in any outline form that will fit theavailable space in the well 61, which serves as a sizelimiting gauge toprevent oversize cams driving the lever 27.

Further, an interesting variation may be created by operating the camfollower lever 27 by hand, rather than by means of a regular cam. Thus,irregular patterns, designs, and configurations are able to be producedby the more skilled operator. To facilitate such hand operation, avertical post 66 extends from the extreme end of the lever 27.

Whereas the present invention has been shown and described herein inwhat is conceived to be the best mode contemplated, it is recognizedthat departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the inventionwhich is, therefore, not to be limited to the details disclosed herein,but is to be afforded the full scope of the invention as hereinafterclaimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A design creating tool, comprising:

a sealed container having a translucent top wall, a bottom wall spacedfrom said top wall, and a dust material in said container capable ofclinging to said top wall and being scraped off by a mechanical device;L

a fixed central hub extending through said bottom wall, bearing meanssupporting said container for rotary motion around said hub, acantilever beam in said container mounted on said .hub and extending toa position a distance from the hub, a support arm pivotally mounted onsaid cantilever beam a distance from said hub and swingable through asemi-circular path, a stylus mounted on said support arm in markingrelationship to said translucent top wall for scraping away a path ofsaid dust material;

a cam operated drive means having a rotating cam and a cam follower, anddrive transmission means operating through said hub for swinging saidsupport arm in said path as a function of drive imparted from said camto said follower; and

a power drive means for driving said sealed container and cam at a fixedspeed ratio which prevents retracing of the stylus in the same path onthe said top wall.

2. A design creating tool as defined in claim 1, further characterizedin that:

said cam-operated drive means is a rotary mount with replaceable cam.

3. A design creating tool as defined in claim 1, further characterizedin that:

said cam-operated drive means is a turntable with replaceable cam forms;and

a manually-driven crank, having a first drive linkage to said sealedcontainer and a second drive linkage to said cam turntable, and saidlinkage producing the drive speeds of said container and turntable at apredetermined speed ratio.

4. A design creating tool, comprising:

a turntable having a markable surface;

a marking stylus, a support arm swingably supported about a center adistance from the turntable axis and swingable through a fixed arcuatepath across said surface of said table, said stylus carried by said armin marking relationship to said surface;

drive linkage having a cam follower operable in a reciprocable path,said linkage connected in drive imparting relationship to said supportarm, said support arm operable within said fixed arcuate path as afunction of cam follower movement, said cam follower path being of alength to produce a moveurge of said resilient means in a fixedrelationship to turntable rotation or hand operated for custom effect.

5 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,159,28011/1915 Schorno 3318 1,980,917 11/1934 Grupp 3327 2,720,704 10/1955McBerty 33-27 10 LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner.

H. N. HAROIAN, Assistant Examiner.

1. A DESIGN CREATING TOOL, COMPRISING: A SEALED CONTAINER HAVING ATRANSLUCENT TOP WALL, A BOTTOM WALL SPACED FROM SAID TOP WALL, AND ADUST MATERIAL IN SAID CONTAINER CAPABLE OF CLINGING TO SAID TOP WALL ANDBEING SCRAPED OFF BY A MECHANICAL DEVICE; A FIXED CENTRAL HUB EXTENDINGTHROUGH SAID BOTTOM WALL, BEARING MEANS SUPPORTING SAID CONTAINER FORROTARY MOTION AROUND SAID HUB, A CANTILEVER BEAM IN SAID CONTAINERMOUNTED ON SAID HUB AND EXTENDING TO A POSITION A DISTANCE FROM THE HUB,A SUPPORT ARM PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID CANTILEVER BEAM A DISTANCE FROMSAID HUB AND SWINGABLE THROUGH A SEMI-CIRCULAR PATH, A STYLUS MOUNTED ONSAID SUPPORT ARM IN MARKING RELATIONSHIP TO SAID TRANSLUCENT TOP WALLFOR SCRAPING AWAY A PATH OF SAID DUST MATERIAL; A CAM OPERATED DRIVEMEANS HAVING A ROTATING CAM AND CAM FOLLOWER, AND DRIVE TRANSMISSIONMEANS OPERATING THROUGH SAID HUB FOR SWINGING SAID SUPPORT ARM IN SAIDPATH AS A FUNCTION OF DRIVE IMPARTED FROM SAID CAM TO SAID FOLLOWER; ANDA POWER DRIVE MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID SEALED CONTAINER AND CAM AT A FIXEDSPEED RATIO WHICH PREVENTS RETRACING OF THE STYLUS IN THE SAME PATH ONTHE SAID TOP WALL.